Shadows
by MayaLopezEcho
Summary: Harry Potter is starting his third year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Nico di Angelo is starting his first. And he has a mission to complete, but even he has no idea what his presence will do to the magical school. Set during Prisoner of Azkaban, and follows the book as close as possibly. Sorry for writing the overused plot, but I couldn't resist.
1. Shadowing the Chosen One

**Shadows**

**By MayaLopezEcho**

**Quick AN: Ahhhhhhh! Thanks for clicking the link, means a lot to me. Thought I'd just let you know, I wrote this with PoA in my hand, and tried to stay as close to canon as possible (with the twist of Nico). This first chapter is going to sound really similar to a few specific chapters of PoA, so I hope you guys don't mind. I do not own PJO or HP, so there's the disclaimer that we all know and… love?**

**At Diagon Alley**

Harry had been happily sitting at Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor. He had just finished his essay on Medieval Witch Burnings, and, feeling rather proud of it, tucked it into his bag. He asked for an ice cream, paid this time, and started walking down the streets. After staring dreamily at the Firebolt for a few minutes, he decided it was time to start school shopping. He went to the Apothecary and Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions. As his last stop, he stepped in to Flourish and Blotts. The shop was mostly empty, besides one creepy-looking boy.

"Hogwarts? Both of you? Come to get your new books?" The manager asked.

"I suppose," The boy shrugged. He spoke in the strangest accent- American, maybe.

"Yes." Harry said, clearly.

"Get out of my way," He cried, pulling on gloves and stepping towards the big cage of Monster Book of Monsters.

"Hang on, I already got one of those!" Harry exclaimed quickly.

"Oh, thank goodness!" A look of enormous look of relief spread on his face. He turned and glared at the other boy, who seemed to be amused by something.

"I don't suppose _you _already have one?" The manager asked hopefully. The boy shook his head. The manager pulled open the cage and quickly grabbed a copy. He threw it at the boy.

"10 galleons," The manager said. The book at gone perfectly still in the boy's hands. He opened

the book, flicking through the pages.

"It appears several of the pages are missing." The boy said, a smirk on his face. He was starting to remind Harry of a dark Draco Malfoy. "I don't believe I'll be able to study appropriately without certain pages. Perhaps I should try a different copy."

"Would you like to pick a book from that bloody cage?" The manager looked ready to scream. The boy raised both eyebrows and walked to the cage. He muttered something very quietly in what sounded like a different language. The books all froze as if terrified, and he pulled out one of the less ragged ones.

"Do you have 10 galleons?" The manager asked.

"Yes, but this doesn't happen to be the only book I'm purchasing." The boy said cockily.

"What's your name, boy?" the manager asked angrily.

"Is that relevant?" He replied.

"Fine. What books do you need?"

"Transfiguration and Standard Spells. Oh, and Unfogging the Future."

"How old are you?"

"13." The boy replied.

"Well that will be 30 galleons."

"Do you charge?"

"Excuse me?"

"Like, a credit card?"

"Like the muggle money?"

"Well, yes, but, I have a vault in Gringotts. "

"Oh, yes. What is your name?"

"Di Angelo." And with that, the boy strolled out the door. Harry got the rest of his books, and went back to the Leaky Cauldron. Deeply troubled after seeing a book with the Grim on it, and after seeing that Di Angelo boy, who claimed to be going to Hogwarts, Harry had to wait forever before he entered a peaceful sleep.

As the days went by, Harry started looking for his best friends, Ron and Hermione. It was almost time for Hogwarts to start, so he started seeing other Gryffindors around. He had met Seamus and Dean in Quality Qudditch Supplies and he had run into Neville Longbottom and his grandmother. Almost a week after his encounter with the diAngelo boy, he stumbled upon them at Florean Fortescue's.

"Finally!" Ron said, grinning, as Harry joined them. "We checked the Leaky Cauldron, Flourish and Blotts, Madam Malkin's and-

"I got all of my school stuff last week," Harry explained. "How did you know I was staying at the Leaky Cauldron?"

"Dad" Ron replied. Of course, Mr. Weasley, who worked at the Ministry of Magic, would know about how Harry had blown up his aunt.

"Did you really blow her up?" Hermione asked.

"I didn't mean to," Harry protested. "I just sort of lost con-"He was cut off by a quiet laugh. He glared at Ron, but realized that the laugh came from another table. All three of them looked over to see the di Angelo kid with a smirk on his face.

"What's your problem?" Harry snapped.

"Oh, me? I just wish I could do that. Your guardians seem very… _lenient._"

"You don't know my family," Harry muttered darkly, turning away and continuing his conversation with Ron. The di Angelo kid pulled his chair right by Harry.

"Yeah," he said, "I don't really know your cousin or uncle."

"Like I said, you'll have to meet them to understand," Harry said shifting away again.

"But I do know Petunia,"

"You're lying," Harry told the annoying boy.

"Tall, bony, horse-like teeth? If it were a lie, Mr. Potter, you would be convinced." Nico started to disappear in to the darkness, still smirking.

"Did you see that? He just apparated!" Hermione exclaimed, paying very little attention to the fact that the Di Angelo kid knew Harry's Aunt. Suddenly, a shadow appeared above them. They all glanced up, noticing Florean Fortescue with Ron and Hermione's ice creams. He was glaring at the spot where di Angelo had been with distaste.

"Do you know that kid?" Florean asked, anger painting his words so that they were harsh and sharp; in contrast with his ordinary disposition.

"I saw him in Flourish and Blotts. He said his name was di Angelo." Harry said with concern. Florean was normally a really nice guy. He had given Harry free ice creams and tips when he did his homework.

"Stay away from him. You don't want to get on his bad side."

"Why? He looks a little creepy, but Harry's probably twice as good with a wand," Ron said, his eyebrows up in disbelief, confidence in his friend lighting an angry fire in his eyes.

"Well, be wary. Oh, and enjoy your ice cream," Florean said, still frowning at Ron's comment.

"Thank you," Hermione called halfheartedly at Florean's retreating figure.

"Don't worry, Florean's probably a nutter," Ron muttered to Harry.

"Ron!" Hermione snapped, and the aforementioned boy shrugged off her reprimand, looking for Harry's answer.

"I don't know," Harry said. "That kid seems dangerous."

"I just hope he's not in Gryffindor!" Ron said, "What a nightmare that would be!"

"He'll be in Slytherin. He seemed just like Draco Malfoy." Harry told Ron in hushed tones.

"I just want to know how he knew your aunt, Harry," Hermione whispered.

"And how did he know my name?" Harry asked himself.

"Well, Harry, everyone knows your name! You're the Boy who Lived!"

"Oh, yeah, of course," Harry muttered, not fully convinced. The three made an odd group as they walked to the magical pet shop. Ron got rat tonic for his graying rat, Scabbers, and Hermione got a giant cat that had attacked Ron. Ron and Hermione were arguing about Crookshanks, Hermione's new cat. Finally, Hermione turned her back on Ron and faced Harry.

"Come on, Harry. Mr. Weasley will be looking for us," Hermione said, and they walked towards the Leaky Cauldron, discussing Nico. Ron walked in front of them, as if oblivious to any conversation.

Mr. Weasley looked troubled when Ron and Hermione walked in. He perked up a bit when he saw Harry, but he still wanted to tell the boy of the dangers ahead.

"Harry! Good to see you!" He said, putting on a false smile. Harry happened to notice the picture of Sirius Black on the cover of Mr. Weasley's paper.

"They still haven't caught him, then?" He asked.

"No," Mr. Weasley said gravely. "They've pulled all us off our normal ministry jobs to search for him, but there's been no luck."

"Do you get a reward if we catch him?" Ron asked, "It would be nice to have some more money." Harry jumped as a laugh that was getting familiar cut across the room.

"If you're talking about Sirius Black, you're kidding yourself," The di Angelo kid still seemed to be hanging around.

"Excuse me, young man, it is rather rude to eavesdrop," Mr. Weasley said, rather politely.

"It's also rather rude to talk about people behind their backs, as in the case of your child. As for Sirius Black, within this year, you will be trying to protect him. Just watch. Especially Mr. Potter," His face looked deadly serious.

"Please, Mister, you need to leave," Mr. Weasley continued. The boy shrugged and turned. He took out two ear buds and a sleek black IPod.

"Fine, Arty," With another smirk on his face, he disappeared into the darkness just as before.

"Harry, do you know that boy?" Mr. Weasley asked urgently.

"I met him in Flourish and Blotts last week. I don't know anything else about him," Just as Harry finished explaining to Mr. Weasley, the plump, overworked Molly Weasley came in with Fred, George, Ginny, and Percy not far behind.

"Harry. How nice to see you," Percy started, and the entire group began talking and laughing together. All discussion about the sly di Angelo kid disappeared.

**Somewhere in the general Europe area**

Nico still hadn't removed the headphones from his ears. The noise was making his head ring, but the mood that came with the music matched perfectly with his own. Bon Scott of AC/DC was screeching Dirty Deeds- it seemed to be exactly what Nico was doing. He was still kicking himself for shadow traveling just to give that creepy affect. Did he _want _to look like his dad? The dad that got him stuck here? Besides, now he was tired. He was sure there would be no shadow traveling until tomorrow.

He was glad that he had picked up the supplies that would be necessary, but he was still worried about the next day. If anyone else had been around he would've acted differently, but that was just his 'Son of Hades' act. Many had described this particular façade as laid back, cool, sly, mysterious, and difficult. It had already proved useful in this quest, or job, as Nico called it. It would be harder to convince this Harry James Potter if he had just come up and said Sirius was innocent. He didn't know why Hades had needed this job done. Most of the time, these jobs made more sense- capture a soul, figure out who was trying to cheat death, go kill someone. Prove someone innocent? Not on the list. Nico wasn't one to question a god, though, so he hadn't asked.

The cold finally got to him. His body wasn't ready to stay out there when he was so tired. His face formed a sad smile as he remembered the words he had spoken many years before. _"With great power comes… Great need to take a nap." _Those words had come from a different child, one who had not been Hades's puppet. It had been at least a year since he had slept in his own bed at camp. It didn't really matter to him- camp was just another place to sleep. Hades supplied him with money for food, and that was all Nico needed. He decided to break and enter that night- instead of getting a motel room. Wherever he was, the houses were terrible, with broken windows and doors. The slight dark feel of the town made Nico vaguely think of monsters, but he had his Stygian Iron sword strapped to his waist on a thin chain. He also had at least five knives hidden in his black leather jacket. He wasn't a fan of it, as it had replaced his aviator's jacket. The aviator's jacket was still in his closet at camp, and, even though Nico would never admit it, he would miss his favorite jacket.

Deciding to not let his mind wander any longer, lest he dwell on unfavorable memories, Nico glanced around. He checked for any empty houses, and then he finally realized why he had ended up on this particular street, He had been vaguely thinking of it, with the whole Sirius Black business, and he couldn't say he was surprised. He was glad that he knew where he was- it would help while measuring energy. Number 11, number 13. Of course, Number 12, Grimmauld Place wouldn't be seen by a mortal eye. Nico was tempted to pause, as he was wondering is Sirius Black stood behind the invisible walls. Maybe the wrongly convicted man had come back home. Even if the option was doubtful, it was still a possibility. With one quick look between numbers 11 and 13, Nico continued down the street, deciding to stay in a motel. If Sirius Black lived around here, it could be assumed that there might be more wizards in the surrounding houses. It would completely ruin all of Nico's chances on the job if he was caught breaking into a wizard's house. He sighed, and pulled out his phone.

He typed Motel six into the GPS app, and the map beeped, showing a Motel Six four blocks down.

Torn between walking and risking shadow travel, Nico must have stood there five minutes before deciding to walk. He needed his health for this job. However, when Nico started along his way, he remembered how tired he was. He laughed out loud, shocking a passerby. Sure, he could go two years fighting monsters left and right, nonstop, but as soon as he shadow traveled maybe a mile, he couldn't move. Nico pulled out a small bag of Ambrosia, and popped a small piece into his mouth. He felt just enough energy to shadow travel, but didn't want to risk it. Instead, he ran all the way to England's finest Motel Six… Or the English equivalent. The GPS wasn't very specific. Nico checked in at the main desk, using the mist to make the clerk think he was 20 years old, as most hotel clerks don't like having 13-year-old boys dressed in dark clothes hanging around.

"Your name, sir?" The clerk asked. Nico hesitated a fraction of a second before coolly answering.

"Sirius," Nico said, hoping that Sirius was a common English name. For a second, he thought he was, safe. Then he saw confusion flicker over the clerk's face. Nico decided that he would just stand there, silent. He saw almost no change in the clerk for a few seconds, and was tempted to look over the desk to see what the clerk was looking at. However, he watched the clerk's eyes grow wide, so he tried to keep a normal expression.

Sirius, the boy had said. That struck a chord somewhere in the clerk, Joey's mind. He knew that name from somewhere, the name Sirius was bad news. An uncommon name, too. He frowned, racking his brain. Black! Sirius Black was the one from the radio report he had just heard. It hadn't said what age the convict was, but looking at the boy, he could definitely be a criminal. Dregs of the radio program surfaced in his mind; words like murderer, twelve dead, armed, £10,000 reward. Joey looked at the boy in a new, fearful light as he stuttered out a request for a surname.

"Uh, uh, uh… Your l-l-l-last na-name?" The clerk stuttered. He obviously thought that Nico was Sirius Black. Nico flashed a quick smile, improvising.

"Sorry, my last name _is _Sirius. My name is Harry Sirius." Nico was just pulling names from his mental list of people mixed in with the job. Harry Potter, of course, and Sirius Black.

"O-O-Okay, Mr. Bla-Sirius."

"Hey, cool it, alright? Are you feeling okay?" Nico was cussing in his mind. This could have been so much easier if he had just said that his name was Harry from the beginning. Now, the guy was probably going to call the cops.

"Ca-cash or cr-cr-credit, Mr. Sirius?"

"Cash. Visiting England for a month, and I forget all my credit cards. I only brought my ATM card, thank goodness for that!" Nico was still trying to disguise his mess up by laughing and talking.

"Uh, it w-w-will be twen-twenty pounds for o-one night in r-ro-room 12."

"Uh, do you take American money?" Nico asked, noticing the 'Pounds'.

"No, but there is a bank around the corner," The clerk whispered, as if afraid of Nico.

"Oh, you know what? Here's a twenty pound note right here." Nico was somewhat surprised to see the Hades had included pounds, but his father always seemed to know the problems Nico would be facing.

"He-here's you-you're room key"

"Thanks," Nico said, leaving. He pretended not to notice the clerk reach for the phone. He decided that he may as well let events unfold. It would call more unwanted attention on Nico if he just left. Almost as soon as he got to the room, he felt the effects of the ambrosia leave him. He barely had enough time to get into the bed before he was engulfed in a wave of darkness.

Sleep.

Joey waited until the kid was in the elevator before reaching for the phone. There was a 10,000 £ reward for the capture of the kid. Screw a tip. He wanted the 10,000. He punched in the familiar numbers for police. He had dialed them countless times- this motel was robbed or vandalized almost every other day.

"Hello, police services, how may I help you?" the female voice came on. The motel was only a few blocks from the station, and the police had their calls forwarded directly to a live operator.

"Hi, Julie, it's Joey from the motel down the street."

"Oh, hey Joey. Are you okay down there?" Julia sounded worried.

"I'm fine- I don't know how long I'll be fine, though," Joey played up the drama. The Sirius kid hadn't done anything, yet. He may as well get Julia interested.

"What's up?"

"I think Sirius Black just came into the motel," Joey said coolly, as he heard Julia gasp.

"_The _Sirius Black?"

"Yep. He was all dark and creepy. I asked for his name, and he said Sirius. Then, I asked for his last name, and he got all quiet for a moment, then he told me that Sirius was his last name. He said that his name was Harry Sirius!" Joey laughed.

"Joey! Don't you know that he's armed and dangerous?"

"Hey, don't worry 'bout me. Why don't you just send someone to pick the criminal up? He should be asleep."

"Listen, Joey. Everyone left. I'm the only one here."

"What?" Joey felt his heartbeat speed up. Before, he had thought that it would be easy. A police force would come and he would get his 10,000 pounds and be done.

"Don't worry. I'll call up the division directors. Just- are you sure that it's Sirius Black?"

"Yeah. It's him."

"Are you absolutely sure?"

"You gotta trust me here- I don't have enough time to explain. It's either Sirius Black or someone else that should be busted."

"Has he done anything suspicious?" Julia sounded guilty.

"Why? Don't you trust me?" Joey asked.

"Alright. I'll call division. Be careful."

"'Kay, Julia. Be quick."

The police didn't show up until almost 15 minutes later. Joey politely showed them the room 'Sirius Black' was staying in.

"So, what about that reward?" Joey asked the one of the six officers.

"You can worry about that after we've caught him."

"That'll be easy, right?" Joey asked.

"This is a wanted criminal. He escaped a maximum security prison. I don't know what to tell you besides that," The officer sounded a little annoyed.

"Alright, alright." With that, Joey ran back into the lobby. The officer chuckled, then looked back at the room Joey had pointed out.

"Sirius Black! We know you're in there! Come out with your hands up, or we will shoot!"

As he took in the bright flashlights coming from outside, Nico groaned. He had seen this coming, but it didn't make the situation any better. He thought about his options. Nico finally decided to come out, hands up, and let them realize their own mistakes. Annoyed, he rolled out of the simple, basic hotel bed. 20 minutes. He had only gotten 20 minutes of sleep. That just _sucked._ Hades was always saying that _Children of Poseidon _never got mistaken for mass-murderers. _Children of Zeus _never got suspended for having knifes. No, everybody just hated children of Hades.

Shrugging off the sleepy composure, Nico pulled on his leather jacket to hide his knifes. He finally took in the dark room. The simple closet, bathroom, bed design. He paid little attention to the details earlier, but the bluish light was highlighting every piece of the room. The carpet had a sort of swirly design, faintly reminding him of the careful patterns in the Apollo cabin. He peered at the carpet again, noticing big red roses hiding most of the swirls. The furniture was normal, basic, simple. The headboard of the bed seemed to be made of solid oak, with no detailing. There was a side table made of the same wood. This was one of the things he had been taught to notice. The table could easily be smashed into someone's head, if it were necessary. Nico hardly moved as the police screamed in his direction. He waited for the cops to yell one more time before coming out.

"Can I help you?" Nico asked, somewhat politely.

"Sirius Black, you are under arrest for murder, as well as many other things. You do not have-"

"Excuse me, there seems to be a mistake."

"Are you saying that you have not committed these crimes?"

"I am saying that I am not Sirius Black. My name is Harry John Sirius."

"Okay, Mr. Sirius," The officer sighed. "Let's discuss this."

"Do you have anything against me?" Nico glared at the officer.

"You killed 13 people."

"Do you have anything that marks me as Sirius Black?"

"No."

"Then there is no reason to arrest me."

"Well, sir, do you have any identification?" At this Nico groaned.

"Stolen," Nico muttered.

"Stolen," The officer repeated, "Sorry, son, you'll have to come with me."

"Come on," Another officer said, "You do not have to say anything unless you wish to do so, but I must warn you that if you fail to mention any fact which you rely on in your defense in court, your failure to take this opportunity to mention it may be treated in court as supporting any relevant evidence against you. If you do wish to say anything, what you say may be given in evidence."

"Oh yeah. I'm not Sirius Black. Think that'll hold up in court?" With that, Nico decided that he was done playing games.

"I'm sorry, we have nothing to say you aren't." The officer replied.

"I don't have time for this," Nico mumbled. Faintly wondering what the English laws were for assaulting an officer, Nico brought his knee into the officer's stomach. He grabbed the officer's gun, loaded it, and turned towards the other five officers.

"I told you that I wasn't Sirius Black." Nico started, "But you didn't believe me."

"Y-You attacked an officer. That's 2 years!"

"I know that," Nico smiled slyly. "Now, everybody, go into the hotel room." Each officer complied. Nico came in with them. He wiped the gun clean on his jacket, and handed it to the nearest cop. Nico rubbed his fingers together, then snapped. The mist swirled around the hotel room. It was somewhat scary as each eye glazed over, as each officer was put under the power of the gods.

"I wasn't in the room. There were no prints, nothing. You found nothing. It was a false alarm. That was it."

And there ya go. Chapter 1, roughly 8 pages on Microsoft Word. Sorry about the length, this was kinda just a for fun fic. But, this is the account I'm going to post just about everything on, so I hoped you liked it. Chapter 2 is going to be a lot shorter, if I post it. Review if you have anything to say, I don't mind flames as long as they're somewhat informative. There are a couple awkward parts in this section, so, I'm hoping for some advice. And I tried to write as true to character as I remember, but I know my versions are gonna be a bit different than yours-'specially with the new Heroes of Olympus release (which I still haven't read, sorry). Long author's note, so I'm gonna wrap it up. Feel free to PM me for reasonable reasons.

**-EchoMayaLopez**


	2. First Impressions

**Chapter 2 here. I'm not gonna say much, but thank you if you reviewed!**

**Platform 9¾ and The Hogwarts Express**

Nico never had good experiences at school. It was completely wrong for him to board a train (with no one forcing him) that would take him to a school. But there was someone forcing him. So, when Nico found himself stumbling on to the Hogwarts Express, as tempting as it was, he couldn't leave without being blasted by the sky. That was a slight problem in Nico's no-school policy. The train compartments swirled in his groggy mind. He had barely gotten any sleep the night before. _Harry Potter. Sirius Black. Albus… __Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore. _The names threw themselves together in one jumbled mess. Nico flung open an empty compartment door before collapsing into a seat. Finally, his head cleared- with one thing still rambling in his mind. Percy had given him advice on their last quest together, and it really was something Nico needed to remember.

_Two words, Nico. Sleep deprivation._

"Ron! It's not his fault!" Hermione grabbed Ron's arm as he stepped toward the compartment door.

"Come off it, Hermione! You saw what a git he is!" Ron almost shouted back.

"Ron, he looks really tired. Just let it go. Besides, there's a man sleeping in there too." Harry finally butted in. The three were standing outside a train compartment that held a sleeping Nico Di Angelo, as well as a shabby-looking teacher.

"Fine. I won't wake him up." Ron slid open the door and selected the seat farthest away from Nico. Harry sighed. He wanted a compartment alone with Ron and Hermione, due to the shocking news of Sirius, but he supposed Nico and the man were asleep. Before Hermione sat down, she glanced up at the trunks.

"Professor R.J. Lupin," She whispered.

"Wonder what he teaches?" Ron frowned at his pallid profile.

"That's obvious. There's only one vacancy, right? Defense Against the Dark Arts."

"Well I hope he's up to it. He looks like one good hex could finish him off, doesn't he? Anyway…" He glanced at Nico, "What is it you wanted to tell us?"

Nico could sense the presence of at least four others when he woke up. He was considered a light sleeper, and anyone would have woke up to that stupid noise. It had started out faint, but it suddenly got louder, as if someone had pulled it out. It was a piercing whistle, and he could make out three talking in hushed tones behind the noise. He tried to fall back asleep as the noise disappeared, but the three kept talking. He knew the voices- who else's would they be? Harry Potter, Ronald Weasley, and Hermione Granger were following him everywhere. When Nico was on the verge of sleep, he heard the sound of a cat. Ron yelled something incomprehensible, and Hermione argued with him. Nico drifted off after that, not quite asleep, but content. He heard someone come to the door with something rolling. Harry, Ron, and Hermione bought something, paid, and turned to Nico and the other occupant.

"D'you think we should wake them up?" Ron asked awkwardly. "He looks like he could do with some food." Nico half wondered who Ron was talking about. Probably not him.

"Er- Professor? Excuse me-Professor? Uh, Nico?" Nico took this as an invitation to get up, so he yawned and ran his fingers through his hair.

"Would you like anything to eat, dear?" A lady was standing in the hall with a tray of food. Nico looked at the tray and shook his head.

"No money." He said before leaning back in the seat.

"Here- do you want a cauldron cake?" Hermione said, feeling bad. Nico responded with a shrug.

"Sorry, I have no idea what those are."

"Try one, they're really good." Harry handed one to him.

"Maybe later," Nico gave it back, cursing in his mind. He hated being social. Harry appeared to give up, Hermione apologized for waking him up, and Ron continued ignoring him. Nico was content again for a long time. It was almost midafternoon when his peace was interrupted. Unfortunately, he seemed to have picked a very dramatic compartment, for a pale, blonde, sneering child had just entered, followed by two very interesting companions. One was taller than the other, with a pudding-bowl haircut and very thick neck. The other somewhat resembled a gorilla and has short, bristly hair.

"Well, look who it is," The blonde one drawled, pulling the compartment door open. "Potty and the Weasel. And look. They have a new fan club member." Nico was found the student repulsive. He seemed very much like the children of Ares, so Nico found it hard not to go up and punch the kid.

"I don't believe I know you, yet you seem to think a lot about me," Nico's voice was filled with the power that came from Hades's blood.

"My name is Draco Malfoy," He paused as if waiting for a reaction. "Perhaps you've heard of my father Lucius. He is very important to… many people." Malfoy continued. Nico stared blankly, for that was the reaction he knew would bother Draco the most. However, he did know the name, as it was a name that was associated with the mission. Lucius Malfoy was a follower of Riddle, therefore making him a possible obstacle.

"Well it's very nice to meet you," Nico responded. It took all he had to keep his mouth shut after that.

"I wish I could say the same, but you appear to be in poor company. Oh, wait. I forgot. Not quite so poor anymore, huh? I heard your father finally got his hands on some gold this summer, Weasley. Did your mother die of shock?" At that comment, Ron stood up quickly, knocking a cat carrier to the floor. The shabby looking man sitting in the corner snorted. Malfoy took an automatic step back.

"Who's that?" He asked quickly. The Potter kid got to his feet.

"New teacher," Harry responded. "What were you saying, Malfoy?" Draco's eyes narrowed, and Nico got the feeling that he wasn't the type to risk picking a fight in front of a teacher.

"C'mon," Draco muttered, turning out the door with his bodyguards following. Nico did not care enough to pay attention to his awake companions' conversation. The rain began to pour, and Nico began to worry. He was not normally one to worry, but rain was controlled by Zeus, and it usually meant he was angry. As the sun disappeared outside, lights flickered on in their compartment and along the hallway.

"We must be nearly there," Ron muttered as he looked out the window. The train slowed to a crawl, and, for a second, Nico thought Ron might be right. The red haired boy seemed to think so too, for he stood to look out into the blackness.

"Great. I'm starving. I want to get to the feast…" He continued.

"We can't be there yet," Hermione said, checking her watch.

"So why're we stopping?" The train continued to slow and, as Harry glanced out the compartment, the train came to a sudden stop. The thuds of dropped luggage could be heard throughout the train, and all the lights went out.

Nico smiled devilishly. He was not surprised to hear shrieks of pure terror at such a thing as the lights turning off unexpectedly.

"What's going on?"

"Ouch! Ron, that was my foot!"

"D'you think we've broken down?"

"Dunno…" At that, Ron cleared a patch of the window of the frost it was covered with.

"There's something moving out there. I think people are coming aboard," Ron muttered. The door slid open, another student entered, promptly tripping over someone's legs. Taking advantage of the distraction, Nico peered out the window. He drew a quick breath as he noticed what Ron's human eyes couldn't make out. He barely managed to keep his laugh in, however, when another girl came in and crashed into Hermione. Noise erupted around Nico as the others began to talk. He took another look out the window, as he still didn't believe what he had seen. The creatures were sometimes associated with Hades, but they were not the same above ground. They appeared smaller, less powerful, and more controllable. Unable to resist, Nico began his tormenting of the witches and wizards.

"We haven't broken down," He said softly, and all noise in the compartment stopped.

"Who are you?"

"Does it matter? I'm trying to help you out here. Since I have superior night vision, I couldn't help but notice that Mr. Weasley was close to correct in his earlier prediction, however, no, 'people' are not coming aboard."

"There's no possible way you could have seen and recognized someone entering the train from this distance," Hermione said slowly, "You might have been able to make out a shape, but…"

"Notice the part about superior vision. I just thought you might want a little warning. You are about to witness one of the most interesting creatures in this world. It will suck every happy thought out of you, and, if you let it, it will suck out your soul. If this were to happen, you would find yourself in a rather unpleasant state, with only your worst memories to haunt you for the rest of your life. You will only have these memories, and nothing else. They cannot be destroyed, and there are very few ways to keep them away. Normally, they do not appreciate my company, for there are not very many happy memories to feed off of, so they leave me alone, and, if they decide not to, I make them go. Today, however, I think it is necessary for you to meet one, so I will not be joining you for the continuation of this journey. Perhaps you should wake the sleeping professor. I assure you, he will probably know what to do. I will see you at the castle, and I wish you good luck. Oh, and I really do like chocolate, so, when the teacher gives you some, think of me and save some. A big piece, please. Unless it's Hershey's. If that's the case, you can have it all. I am not fond of Hershey's whatsoever." Nico was rather happy to see them with wide eyes as he stepped out of the compartment. He carefully walked other compartments, noticing the screams that developed upon meeting the foul creature. He smirked at the black monster with its distinctive form. It knew Nico, and didn't even try to suck the memories from his mind. Once he reached the entrance of the train, he shadow-traveled to the platform at Hogwarts, pulled out his IPod, and smiled. Maybe Steve Jobs was a wizard, he thought as the happy little screen popped up. Apparently some muggle electronics did work on school grounds. But, then again, he doubted they had a plug to charge with. Thinking about it, he remembered that England used a completely different system. Checking the clock on his IPod, he realized he had just enough time to shadow travel to a convenience store to get a convertor and still travel back. Perfect.

**Hogsmeade Station, the Sky, and Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry**

Harry didn't see Nico di Angelo anywhere. This could be good or bad. He hadn't saved any chocolate, for he had wanted it all himself, and he felt a little guilty. He was more worried about what the kid knew. It bothered him, how Nico had known about the chocolate and the Dementor. He heard Hagrid yell something, and he quickly waved before continuing down the dirt path to at least a hundred stagecoaches. Harry climbed onto a carriage before returning to his musings. He was soon joined by Ron and Hermione. He hardly glanced up as one more person joined them in the carriage.

"I'm guessing it was Hershey's" The voice of Nico di Angelo cut through the silence. Harry's head jerked up to look at the strange student. "Or maybe you just needed all you could get," Nico continued, taking in how pale Harry looked.

"Sorry," Harry muttered.

"Out of curiosity, do these carriages fly?"

"No," Hermione answered quickly, "Why do you ask?" Nico looked at her funny.

"Uh, because of the thestrals," He said, as if it should be obvious.

"What?" Ron asked.

"Oh," Nico said slowly. "Of course. Forget I said anything."

"Wait! I know thestrals! I read about them somewhere," Hermione exclaimed. Nico sighed before face-palming. Snapping his fingers, he felt the mist surround the other three.

"So, lovely ride, huh?" Nico said quickly, filling their blank minds with something to think as the carriage stopped. As Harry stepped out, slightly confused, a drawling, delighted voice appeared in his ear.

"You _fainted,_ Potter? Is Longbottom telling the truth? You actually _fainted?_" Malfoy stepped past Nico to keep Harry from continuing up the steps. He didn't seem to notice Nico's raised eyebrows.

"Shove off, Malfoy," Ron said.

"Did you faint as well, Weasley?" Malfoy said loudly. "Did the scary old demen-"

"Listen to me, Δράκων," Nico cut him off. The word he called Draco sounded like his name in a different language, kind of like Drako̱n. "You insult us all, yet I have quite a few things to say to you."

"Like what? I don't understand what you're saying when you use that interesting language, so I don't feel insulted."

"I suppose it helps to say your father is a… You know what? I don't think your father should be insulted in my native language, for the language itself deserves better. I guess I won't be insulting you or him today."

"I bet your father is someone who could be insulted in any language." Nico shook his head as the naïve boy commented.

"You are playing a dangerous game, Mr. Malfoy. One that is not recommended. It appears you are lucky today, but tomorrow may be a different case. May the god of the underworld be easy on your soul. I shall warn you that your dreams will not be pleasant tonight, but I wish you good night, as it may help a little."

"Is there a problem?" Professor Lupin's mild voice could be heard as he exited his carriage.

"Oh, no-er-_Professor" _Malfoy responded with the smallest hint of sarcasm. He turned and quickly walked up the steps to the castle. Nico didn't look back at Harry, Ron, or Hermione as he followed the new crowd. In the background, he heard a strict-sounding voice screeching for Harry and Hermione.

Harry found himself in Professor McGonagall's office with Madame Pomfrey fussing over him before he could say a word. He angrily declined everything until they gave up and had him wait for Hermione outside. A few minutes later, Hermione and Professor McGonagall exited, and the three of them went to the Great Hall together.

"Oh, we missed the sorting!" Hermione said softly. They both walked over to where Ron was already seated.

"What was that all about?" Ron muttered. Harry quietly began to explain, but stopped in the middle when he noticed Nico di Angelo in the mix of Gryffindors.

"Was he sorted?" Harry asked, jerking his head toward Nico.  
"No," Ron glanced up at Dumbledore, "He just kinda sat down. Dumbledore's been staring at him the entire time." At that, Dumbledore stood, and the hall went silent.

"Welcome!" the gray-haired wizard began, "Welcome to another year at Hogwarts! I have a few things to say and one of them is very serious, I think it best to get it out of the way before you become befuddled by our excellent feast…"

Nico's attention was caught by the word 'feast'. He was starving, and listening to Albus Dumbledore talk was making it worse. He was sure the rest of the students didn't notice it, but Albus's eyes flickered over to Nico every once in a while. He continued talking, and Nico guessed that the headmaster was not happy that Nico was there. Nico reached into his pocket, feeling the knife tucked into a hidden pouch. How it would feel to just let the knife go. Albus Dumbledore was a problem, one that Nico could easily take care of. His hands did not join in applauding Remus Lupin's appointment to Defense Against the Dark Art, nor did they clap when it was announced the Rubeus Hagrid would be taking over Care of Magical Creatures.

"Well, I think that's everything of importance. Let the feast begin!" Dumbledore announced, and the gold plates filled with food. Nico quickly prayed to Hades, promising offerings later, and dug in. After completing some strange English foods, Dumbledore announced that it was time to sleep, and Nico followed a group of Gryffindors to the common room.

"Password?" The portrait said, chuckling at the sight of new arrivals.

"Anyone know it?" One of the other students asked. Everyone shrugged, and decided to walk down to find a prefect. Nico elected to wait by the portrait. Once everyone left, he turned to the portrait of the fat lady in the pink dress.

"Fortuna Major," He told her quietly.

"How in the world do you know that?" The portrait asked while swinging open. Nico smiled crookedly.

"I have my ways," He muttered as he entered the empty room. No one was there yet, due to fact that the prefects hadn't come to give the password. Nico had heard it at the bottom of the stairs, long before coming to the door. He glanced around the room, trying to figure out where he could sleep. Finally, he decided that it would be best to leave the castle for the night. He could still sense the thestrals, and they seemed to like him, so sleeping in the stables would work for him.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione entered the Great Hall the next morning, the first thing they noticed was Malfoy and a group of Slytherins mocking Harry. Ignoring their jeers, Harry sat next to George Weasley.

"New third-year course schedules. What's up with you, Harry?" He said, passing the schedules over.

"Malfoy," Ron muttered, taking a seat on George's other side.

"That little git," He said calmly. "He wasn't so cocky last night when the dementors were down at our end of the train. Came running into our compartment, didn't he, Fred?"

"Nearly wet himself. Weird, though. Some other kid just walked right by. The dementor avoided him like he was the plague or something." Fred responded.

"Nico," Ron and Harry said together after a quick glance.

"Really? He looked somewhat insane," George glanced around the hall, "I don't see him."

"He wasn't in the common room last night. Maybe it had something to do with the way Dumbledore was looking at him last night." Hermione commented. Just then, Nico di Angelo strolled into the hall. Dumbledore quickly stood and walked toward the door, eyes on Nico the entire time.

Obviously, the professor was trying not to make a scene. He tapped Nico lightly on the shoulder before beckoning for Nico to follow. The Halfblood slowly nodded, deciding the confrontation was coming anyway. He followed Dumbledore to what appeared to be a gargoyle. Nico was not surprised to see the gargoyle jump out of the way, revealing a spiral staircase he assumed leaded to the headmaster's office. The large room included several moving portraits of people Nico knew were long dead. A collection of books, most likely creating the headmaster's private library, could be seen clutter the room. Several silver instruments were making annoying whirring noises and puffing of smoke. The most surprising part of the room was the Phoenix sitting comfortably on a perch. The bird must not have noticed the son of Hades, or perhaps it just did not recognize the scent. It cooed happily at Dumbledore, so the professor stroked him affectionately.

"I do not know who you are," Dumbledore said slowly, hinting for an introduction.

"Yet I could recognize your face from a long distance," Nico responded immediately. Dumbledore's eyebrows rose as he recognized the accent.

"You are American."

"You assume a lot," Nico glared at the man, "But yes, America is where I prefer to be."

"But you are not always there."

"Questions are okay. I may not answer them, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't ask."

"I am not sure how things are done in America, but, in England, you cannot just show up to a school and expect to be let in. Especially this school," Dumbledore was not one for being firm, but this kid was pushing it.

"I'm not sure how things are done in England, but, in America, students are not left alone in a closed office with the headmaster. People get the wrong impression."

"Are you implying something, Mr... Ah, what was your name again?" There he was again with the name.

"I don't believe this worked very well last time. I don't plan on telling you my name until I understand my position here," Nico sounded annoyed at this, as if the headmaster was insane.

"Let's resolve this here… Ah, you must understand that I am used to addressing people with their last names. Perhaps you understand this," Dumbledore was slowly giving up on courtesy.

"I do," Nico responded evenly.

"Then you must understand how strange this is to me. Perhaps if you just-"

"I don't plan on telling you my name," Nico took a deep breath. He had very little time here, and an unexpected death would cast a slight problem in the mission. This was, of course, the only place Harry Potter would be for the next 9 months, assuming he didn't go anywhere for Winter Break.

"I'm terribly sorry, but there is nothing I can do for you, then."

"di Angelo. Nico di Angelo. I want to go to school here," Nico breathed out.

"Okay, Mr. di Angelo. This is one of the top magic schools in the country. You must be invited. How did you get here?"

"Listen, I won't hurt your students. I just want to study magic. I… I am powerful. Sometimes too powerful. I can't keep it in control. People get hurt. I want to stop it." Nico said the words very carefully. He filled them with hate, grief, and anger. Dumbledore was instantly surprised at the reaction.

"Of course you can study here. I think that you may need a tutor of some sort. I assume you're in your third year."

"That sounds right," Nico was surprised that the acceptance had come so easily out of the older man's mouth.

"So perhaps you will take extra classes with some of the teachers. Do you have books?"

"I have everything required," He responded, quoting the words of his father.

"Good. Perhaps you should go to breakfast now. You've been gone long enough," Nico stood with Dumbledore's words.

"I suppose my class schedule has been taken care of."

"Ah, yes. Here," He handed Nico a course schedule. "They are just receiving these in the Great Hall as well."

"Yes, _sir_," Nico left quickly. He smiled to himself on his way down the stairs. Unbelievable as it was, Nico di Angelo actually had something go right.

**Figured I'd throw in a ending author's note. Here's the scoop: Thanksgiving Break's coming soon, so don't expect an update until at least December. Probably later. **

**Review if that's your style, favorite if that's what you prefer.**

**Don't like it? Tell me why. Or forget about it. If you see a spelling/grammar error LET ME KNOW. I hate having errors like those floating around the internet under my name.**

**I think that's all there is to say.**

**-MayaLopezEcho**


	3. Classes and Conversations

**Okay, I'm a little earlier than I originally predicted. I'm taking a little bit of a risk here, because I'm using up all I've written so far, so it might be awhile before I post the next one. Well, here's chapter 3.**

"Where is she?" Ron said after climbing the ladder into the divination classroom.

"Welcome," A misty voice came out of the shadows. "How nice to see you in the physical world at last." Harry saw the speaker as a large, glittering bug. She wore glasses that made her eyes appear larger than they actually were, as well as a shawl and many beaded necklaces.

"Sit, my children, sit." The class sat on the armchairs and poufs rather awkwardly. Harry, Ron, and Hermione made their way to a round table in the back. They were surprised to find Nico di Angelo at the table with them. As Professor Trelawney began to ramble about the Inner Eye, the three began to talk about Nico.

"I thought he would be expelled for sure," Ron whispered.

"It all does seem quite odd," Hermione replied, worry mixing into her voice.

"If Dumbledore thinks he should stay, I trust him," Harry concluded. All three jumped as a heavy sigh came from the other side of the table.

"When will you learn that I have functioning ears?" Nico asked, a smirk forming on his face. The table fell into awkward silence. Professor Trelawney finally gave the instructions for the day, and the four students partnered up. Harry and Ron filled their teacups and drank the hot liquid as fast as they could. They then swished the leftover leaves around and tipped the cup upside-down as instructed. Hoping to find something interesting in the tea leaves, they flipped their cups over.

"Right. What can you see in mine?" Ron passed his cup to Harry.

"A load of brown soggy stuff."

"Broaden your minds, my dears, and allow your eyes to see past the mundane!" Trelawney cried out.

"Right, you've got a crooked sort of cross…" Harry looked down at his book. "That means you're going to have 'trials and suffering'-sorry about that- but that thing there could be the sun… hang on… that means 'great happiness'… so you're going to suffer but be very happy…"

"You need your inner eye tested, if you ask me," Ron muttered.

"My turn… There's a blob a bit like a bowler hat. Maybe you're going to work for the Ministry of Magic…" Ron twisted the teacup, "But this way it looks like an acorn… What's that? 'A windfall, unexpected gold.' Excellent, you can lend me some… and there's a thing here," he paused to turn the cup again, "that looks like an animal… yeah, if that was its head… it looks like a hippo… no, a sheep."

Professor Trelawney whirled around at Harry's snort of laughter.

"Let me see that, my dear," She said, snatching the cup out of Ron's hands.

"A falcon- my dear, you have a deadly enemy," She continued, turning the cup. Almost all eyes went to Nico di Angelo, except Hermione's.

"But everyone knows _that_. Well, they do. Everyone knows about Harry and You-Know-Who." Hermione whispered as loud as she could.

"The club… an attack. Dear, dear, this is not a happy cup."

I thought it was a bowler hat," Ron said quietly.

"The skull… danger in your path, my dear… My dear boy… my poor, dear boy… no… it is kinder not to say… no… don't ask me…"

"What is it, Professor?" One of the students asked.

"My dear," Trelawney looked straight at Harry, ignoring Hermione, "You have the Grim!"

Most of the people in the class were either completely shocked or completely confused.

"The what?" Harry asked.

"The Grim, my dear, the Grim! The giant, spectral dog that haunts churchyards! My dear boy, it is an omen- the worst omen- of _death!_" Trelawney screeched. The entire class seemed scared by this, and they all looked at Harry with pity.

All except a certain Nico di Angelo. He lay back in his chintz armchair, eyebrows raised. However, no eyes fell on the mysterious transfer student who knew a lot about death. He was happy for the distraction, as it gave him time to dump his tea into someone else's cup. He felt his eyes glaze over as a whiff of perfume met his nose and a sleepy grin spread across his face. He was about to drift off when he realized class was over. He almost would rather breathe in the stiff underworld air instead of this thick humid atmosphere. His joy at discovering divination had ended was silenced in a simple glance at his schedule. His next class was Transfiguration and he had no idea how to transfigure anything.

Luckily enough for Nico, it turned out his first day in transfiguration included absolutely no magic. Instead, it filled Nico with more hatred for the Potter trio that seemed to rule the school. It appeared he would have every class with them, as he had latched on the Gryffindor house. He would be stuck with the same students all day every day until he could prove Black's innocence and be done with it. After a grueling hour listening to them complain and fret about their divination experience, Nico headed to the Great Hall for lunch.

"Coincidence," Hermione Granger concluded, letting pumpkin juice swirl into her cup below.

"You don't know what you're talking about!" Ron bellowed angrily.

"And I suppose you do," Nico's cool voice joined the conversation.

"I know a bloody lot more than you!"

"No need to get angry," Nico responded to Ron's harsh tones.

"Honestly, Ron, you're always getting like this! Divination isn't even worth the trouble of arguing with you- It's rubbish!" said Hermione, slamming her Arithmancy book closed.

"Just because you don't like being bad about something for a change doesn't mean you have to treat it so scornfully!" Ron's accusation touched a nerve, and Hermione snatched her bag and began to walk away.

"If being good at Divination means I have to pretend to see death omens in a lump of tea leaves, I'm not sure I'll be studying it much longer! That lesson was absolute rubbish compared with my Arithmancy class!" She snarled back before strutting out the door.

"Has she even had Arithmancy yet?" Nico mused, sipping a glass of water. This produced glares from both Harry and Ron.

"No," Ron replied icily.

"Didn't think so," Nico downed the water and began to collect his books. "I best be off," he added with a cheesy accent.

"Yeah, you should go," Ron snapped. "Now get."

Nico strolled out the door, wondering how he was going to gain their trust while it was so fun to drive them to the edge.

Harry loved the fresh air as he left the castle. The grass was damp and springy, while the sky showed a pale grey overhead. Ron and Hermione weren't speaking to each other, and Harry walked beside them silently. It was their first Care of Magical Creatures class, and Hagrid was their new professor. Harry's lips formed a smile as he saw the half-giant waiting outside his hut.

"C'mon, now, get a move on! Got a real treat for yeh today! Great lesson comin' up! Everyone here? Right, follow me!" The class followed their professor as he led them toward the trees.

For one exciting moment, Nico thought Hagrid was going to lead them into the forest. The thousands of giant trees held a mysterious presence for the demigod, and he was dying to meet the creatures that no doubt found their home it the endless trees. However, the professor led the students around the trees to a small paddock.

"Everyone gather 'round the fence here," He called. "That's it- make sure yeh can see-now first thing yeh'll want to do is open yer book-"

"How?" Malfoy drawled, and several students appeared to agree with them. Nico laughed, pulling out his calm copy of _Monster Book of Monsters. _The book had never tried to bite him, and he looked around at the students who had bound their books with all sorts of things- rope, tape, belts, and even binder clips. As Hagrid showed them all how to keep the books from biting their arms off, Nico was gazing at the paddock, trying to figure out what type of creature they would be studying. Finally, the professor strode into the forest to bring whatever it was.

"Oooooh!" One of the students squealed, causing Nico's head to shoot up. He groaned inwardly as the professor brought 5 hippogriffs in front of the class. Just Nico's luck. These beasts were half eagle, half horse. Poseidon and Zeus working in harmony to create one creature. Nico had had one run in with a hippogriff, and that hadn't ended well.

"Great Lord of the Sky and all of Olympus, please don't let your creation kill me. Lord of the Sea and Storm, please let this majestic creature leave me alone," Nico muttered a prayer under his breath.

"Beau'iful, aren't they?" Hagrid bellowed. Nico took a moment to look at every single creature, only to find that they were all staring straight at him, with huge orange eyes.

"So, if yeh wan' ter come a bit nearer-"

Harry, Ron, and Hermione approached the fence, but Nico took a huge step back. The teacher started to explain the beasts- their pride, their manners, the whole bowing thing. _A lot like Zeus. _Niko thought, and he instantly regretted it. He was going to be killed by these creatures now, no doubt about it. He was tempted to run from the hippogriffs, but he stuck around to watch. Harry was nearing a grey hippogriff now, doing the whole bowing ritual. When the hippogriff bowed back, Harry walked up and patted its beak. Then Hagrid slung him across the hippogriff's back, and the creature took off. Despite the terrified look on Harry's face, he survived his flight. Hagrid let the others file into the paddock to practice on the other hippogriffs. Nico stuck back, but continued to watch the events play out. Malfoy was now practicing on the same hippogriff Harry had been riding on, and he was obviously up to something. If Nico played this right, he could gain Harry's trust, and that was something Nico needed more than anything. He threw up a quick prayer to the gods, and slipped into the paddock.

"Hey," Nico stood next to Harry, then pointed to Malfoy. "He's up to something."

"Yeah, he always is," Harry gave Nico an odd look. "Why are you telling me?"

"You seem like the kind of guy who can fix it," Nico paused as a shriek filled the yard. "Maybe not."

"I'm dying!" Malfoy screeched. The hippogriff had slashed him across arm, and blood spewed across the grass.

"Shut up, idiot. Don't be such a baby," Nico was at his side in an instant, while Hagrid was still on the opposite side of the paddock. Nico's hands had expert training in wounds like these, and he had wrapped and dressed the wound in an instant. The blood was now staining through a piece of Nico's robes, which he had tied around Malfoy's arm.

"Stop! It hurts!"

"I said shut up," Nico growled. By that time, Hagrid had heard the screams and was making his way to them. He picked up Malfoy and, as Hermione opened the gate, ran with him up the slope to the castle. The students followed quickly, muttering. Nico was left with Harry, Ron, Hermione, and the hippogriffs.

"D'you think he'll be alright?" Hermione asked nervously.

"'Course he will. Madam Pomfrey can mend cuts in about a second," said Harry.

"Besides, that was only about a half-inch deep," The trio flinched, despite their lack of knowledge on customary measurements. "I've seen people hop up and fight with worse." Nico's face was cold and torn at these words, as if remembering a bad memory.

"Where'd you learn to wrap it like that?" Hermione questioned.

"Summer camp," Nico responded, and he strolled toward the hippogriff that had attacked Malfoy.

"What do you think they're going to do to Buckbeak?" Ron asked suddenly.

"This is Buckbeak?" Nico asked, inspecting the bloody talons. Then he whispered, mostly to the hippogriff, "I would have done that too."

The hippogriff reared its head to face Nico. It glared, but didn't try to attack.

"We should go to dinner," Harry supplied words to fill the empty space.

"Yeah," Ron agreed, and they turned to start up the slope. Nico followed.

"Should we close the paddock?" Hermione asked. Harry considered before walking back to close it.

"Don't," Nico finally said. "No use in closing it. Leave it open. If they want to leave, let them."

"But-"

"Just leave it."

Dinner passed unceremoniously, and Hagrid didn't show. The Slytherins were all chattering in small groups. After dinner, Nico returned to the common room just in time to see Harry, Ron, and Hermione leave, probably to go visit Hagrid. Deciding not to follow them, he instead chose to explore the castle. The twists and turns of the passageway were dangerous to travel when you didn't know where you were going, but Nico had little fear of getting lost. He took a right turn, then a left, then went up three flights of stairs until he found an empty room. A chalkboard was pushed up in the corner, and there was enough dust that breathing brought in mouthfuls of fluff. It seemed the room was currently used for storage, as there were stacks of desks and chairs and pillows. Nico pulled out a beanbag from the several different types of pillows in the stack, and settled down among the dust. He pulled out his wand, a pure black stick that radiated magic. There was nothing special about it- it was a wand, like everyone else's at that school. But Nico was not accustomed to magic like this. When he held the wand loosely, like he did now, golden sparks flew from it, creating his own firework show. He traced patterns in the ceiling, letting the wand shower him in gold sparks.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" A lofty voice filled the air. Nico didn't flinch or jump, but he was surprised. People never snuck up on him.

"Yes," He responded tensely.

"I'm Luna," With her introduction, she stepped into the light. She looked to be about a year younger, and she had white-blonde hair that fell to her waist like waterfall mist.

"Nico," He responded. His cold, black eyes met her dreaming grey ones.

"I'm sorry if I'm wrecking your solitude, but I saw the sparks."

"It's no problem," Nico shoved his wand back into his robes. "I'm just leaving."

"Please stay. Most people don't talk to me," She responded, and Nico could see why. Her wand was tucked behind her ear, and she wore a necklace of bottle caps, giving her an appearance that said something was off about her.

"I should go."

"The Penthos have you, don't they?" Luna looked sullen.

"The what?" Nico snapped, not really wanting to deal with this lunatic.

"The Penthos. They're disgusting creatures- they feed on people who lose those close to them. They cause depression and all sorts of bad things. Do you often feel lonely?" Nico glared at the girl.

"Look, I'm not in the mood-"

"Because your head is being swarmed with them!" Luna shrieked, smacking him with her handbag. Nico gave her a look of pure annoyance, before a thought hit him.

"_Penthos,_" He repeated, giving it a Greek accent. He ran to the chalkboard before scrawling some ancient figures.

Πενθος.

"What's that?" Luna looked over his shoulder at the board.

"Nothing," He responded. "Penthos translates to mourning in Greek, did you know?"

"No, but it does make sense!" Luna pointed out.

"I'm going to leave now," Nico turned to the door.

"Don't let them get to you. Don't be lonely," A tear formed in Luna's eye. "Don't be like me." Nico's eyes reached her face with a look of understanding.

"My mom," Luna supplied. "The only person I ever trusted."

"I'm sorry," Nico responded before strolling out the door. It was sad, he would admit, but he seen too much death and destruction to shed a tear over one girl's mother.

_What about his mother? _He thought bitterly. Who had cried over her? His father had shut off all communication, and then she was just a shadow, a memory.

He found his way back to the common room, where he spent about fifteen minutes searching for a plug for his iPod. There appeared to be no electricity anywhere in the castle. A little shaken by his experience with Luna, he took a seat on the four-poster bed he had claimed for his own. _Penthos. _The word burned his mind. How could she have possibly chosen that word to use in his presence? He was certain she was slightly off her rocker, but the fact that she picked a Greek word to describe his ailment made him wonder if she had some sort of power that sensed his parentage. He rather doubted it-and no one would believe her if she told everyone he was a child of Hades. He continued to think of the strange girl as he slipped into his bed. Right as he started to drift off to sleep, a mangled half thought-half dream surfaced in his head. Luna sat in front of him, reclining on a beanbag, her hair flooding over her face as her normally-wandering grey eyes stared straight at him. Slowly, her face changed to a face Nico knew too well. When she spoke, her voice wasn't hers. It was a voice Nico knew he would never hear again, a voice that represented love and family.

_The Penthos. Do you still mourn for me, brother? _Bianca said.

Nico awoke in cold sweat. He rolled over to look out the window, seeing that the sun had not yet risen. Nico rubbed his eyes, but he couldn't get the dream out of his mind. Finally, Nico made an incredibly rash decision. The shadows engulfed him, and he found himself perched on Percy's bed.

"Nico!" The demigod yelled. "What are you doing?"

"Sorry, Percy," Nico yawned.

"Do you have any idea what time it is?" Percy snapped. Nico paused trying to think about it.

"Uh… Eight?"

"Wait, what?" Percy rolled out of bed and glanced at the clock. "Oh."

"Yeah, I figured it would be an okay time to visit," Nico laughed at Percy's perplexed face.

"Sorry, Nico, it's just been a long day."

"It's fine, really. I just couldn't sleep," Nico figured it was best to leave it at that, but Percy look told him he wasn't about to get away with so little information.

"Nico- are you wearing glamour?" Percy reached out to touch Nico's face, but he shied away.

"I need to look thirteen. It's not much."

"You're on a quest."

"If you could call it that," Nico remarked dryly. "Look, I just stopped by to say hi."

"Nico, you haven't been in camp for at least five months, and you haven't stayed the night in at least a year. Stay a little while. The job can wait."

"I wish. This one's a direct order from my dad; I can't really ignore it," A sigh followed Nico's words. "I'll walk around awhile, but I can't stay long."

"Why did you come here?"

"I told you, I couldn't sle-"

"You never sleep. What's this about?" Percy gave Nico a long look, and Nico tried to form the words.

"She chose rebirth," And with that, every wall Nico ever had came crashing down. "She didn't even tell me before she left. She never even said goodbye."

"Nico, I'm sor-"

"It's just like all those years ago. She just loves to leave me all alone."

"Nico," Percy's voice was firm but calm.

"You know the worst part?" Nico was almost yelling. "She will never know what our father puts me through every day. She's never going to be sent on these stupid missions to do who knows what!"

"Look, Nico, after this mission, just come here. Come back to camp. We'll keep you busy and happy, and you can relax for a while. You're tense and you need sleep."

"Yeah, thanks, Percy," Nico finally said, half-heartedly. "I'm going to get some sleep."

"Bye, Nico," Percy sighed as the other demigod walked away. Nico was the little brother Percy had never had, but they had been drifting farther and farther apart lately. As Percy rolled over to fall back asleep, he wondered if anyone was close to the son of Hades.

Nico sat alone in the corner of his cabin, emptiness filling his heart. Percy hadn't been any help, but, then again, Percy was never much help. This was where Bianca normally came in, telling Nico the usual- don't hold grudges, don't forget who you are, and all the other meaningless phrases. When they flowed from Bianca's ghostly mouth, they seemed to have more feeling and purpose in the world, and they always made Nico feel better. No one knew how to comfort him like Bianca.

He finally decided sleeping was his best option, so he pulled the solid black covers around himself. Darkness shrouded him as he drifted off into the night. He almost didn't care if he was late to school the next morning, but his subconscious seemed to know the consequences. He woke up promptly 2 hours later, making it approximately 6:00 at Hogwarts.

_Just in time._

Harry couldn't stop thinking about Hagrid. Malfoy hadn't appeared in class until late on Thursday, about half way through double potions. He wore a sling and acted as if he were some brave war hero. Harry was annoyed beyond belief, but Nico di Angelo seemed even more angered by Malfoy's actions.

"That_ irritante, seccante __vlákas" _Nico muttered.

"What language is that?" Harry finally asked, after several minutes of Nico's muttering.

"Language?" Nico seemed to think for a minute. "I wasn't really paying attention. Some mixture of Greek and Italian."

"You speak three languages?"

"On a good day," Nico chuckled.

"And what were you saying?"  
"I was mostly calling Mr. Malfoy over there an annoying jackass."

"Potter, you can skin Malfoy's shivelfig," said Professor Snape, breaking into their conversation.

"And five points from Gryffindor for chatting. Is there something you would like to share with the class, Mr. di Angelo?"

"Oh? I was just informing Mr. Potter here that Mr. Malfoy is a _seccante maiale._"

"Meaning?"  
"Annoying pig, if Italian hasn't changed in 80 years," Nico replied with a smile. "Remind me to check."

"Get out of my classroom, Mr. di Angelo!"

"With pleasure," Nico felt himself slowly fading out of the potions dungeon and into the abandoned classroom he had found himself in only a few days before.

Harry listened to Mallfoy bragging about his injury and how it would get Hagrid fired for most of potions. It was Seamus Finnegan who finally ended Malfoy's speech.

"Hey, Harry," Seamus had started, reaching over to borrow Harry's brass scales. "Have you heard? _Daily Prophet _this morning- they reckon Sirius Black's been sighted."

"Where?" Harry responded instantly, but a thought surfaced to the top of his head. Nico had mentioned something about Harry being on Sirius's side, and with all the strange things going on with the new student, Harry was starting to wonder where Nico got his information.

"Not too far from here," Seamus said, but Harry was only half listening as Seamus recited the newest piece of gossip. Harry commented a few times, but he couldn't stop thinking about Nico. Then, Malfoy launched his story of how Harry should want revenge on Sirius Black, and Harry was starting to feel very out of the loop.

"What did Malfoy mean?" Harry asked Ron as they washed their ladles in the sink. "Why would I want revenge on Black? He hasn't done anything to me- yet."

"He's making it up. He's trying to make you do something stupid," Ron replied savagely.

"I suppose… But Nico seemed to know a lot about it too…"

Nico read the professor's name on his schedule with undeniable joy. Remus John Lupin. The fourth man in the group of Marauders that included Peter Pettigrew, James Potter, and Sirius Black. Getting kicked out of potions gave Nico tons of extra time, so he decided talking to the man would be his next course of action. An optimistic thought crossed Nico's mind as he figured he might be at Camp Half-Blood in time for Christmas.

**Well… I'm not so sure about this chapter. I wanted to show where Nico was right now, and what he felt on the inside, but I felt like his part with Percy was a little awkwardly written. Suggestions? And, just so ya know, I don't ship Lunico, so don't expect to see any more of that. Anyway, this chapter also shows Nico arguing with Snape, which I thought was a little Snape OOC. And then the Harry thinking thing was kinda bothering me… Definitely not my best work.**

**I feel like I'm reviewing my own chapter… Whoops. I'm just gonna shut up now.**

**-MayaLopezEcho**


	4. And the Work Begins

**Happy New Year! Hope you guys had a great holiday season. Here's chapter four:**

He was at least an hour early, but there were no students in the Defense of Dark Arts classroom, so he assumed the professor had no other class to fill his time.

"Hello," A voice filled the hollow, empty room, and Nico put on a fake, cheery smile.

"Hello, Professor Lupin," He responded, "I was hoping you could help me out before class."

"Excuse me, Mr…"

"Di Angelo. Nico Di Angelo."

"Mr. Di Angelo, don't you have a class?" The Professor was studying Nico with great interest, taking in every aspect of the student.

"I got kicked out," Nico responded matter-of-factly.

"Oh, I see." The professor's stormy brown eyes met Nico's black ones.

"As I was saying," Nico continued, unperturbed. "I need your help. I actually have no interest in magic or these classes, but I do have a job to do. It turns out, your old friend Sirius-"

"How would you know that?" Lupin cut in, and his eyes seemed to focus on the things Nico tried his best to hide- the fidgeting hands that came as a result of ADHD, the scars tracing up and down his arms from too many fights, the dark rings that circled his eyes from time spent in a world without sleep, and the trace of darkness that shrouded his soul, the feeling of death that no amount of mist would ever hide.

"Is it important? As I was saying, I need to prove to Harry Potter that Sirius Black is innocent, and so on and so forth. A rather disgusting task, as I'm beginning to discover." Nico continued with his cocky attitude, but he felt as if this man had stripped away every layer of protection he had built up inside.

"Nico, I'm afraid Sirius Black is a guilty man. As much as I want to deny it…"

"Not you too. Well, let's prove it to you. Peter Pettigrew is alive."

"Mr. di Angelo," The professor sighed, and Nico felt pity rolling off the man.

"It's not what you think," Nico realized there was no way to act with this professor, no way to hide under layers of nonchalance. So he gave up. "You study things like me, don't you?"

"Things like you?" Lupin echoed, the recognizing that Nico's voice was that of a child grown too fast. He remembered days when he would use the same words to describe himself- a monster, a thing that someone would dissect just to find out why you were the way you were.

"You recognize me, yes? You've been to America. You know us."

"_et__quod natum est ex__Deo." _Nico's cocky smile turned into a frown as the professor spoke. "Child of the god," Lupin informed him, mistaking his frown for misunderstanding.

"I know what it means," Nico sighed. "Really, though, Latin? And a very rough translation at that."

"You speak Latin?" Remus was shocked. He didn't know anyone who spoke it fluently, and he knew how difficult the language was.

"No, Ancient Greek. But I know people, and it sort of rubbed off. I know phrases, and that's a pretty common one for me."

"That's very impress-" Nico cut him off sharply.

"I hate to be rude, but we're off topic. Sirius Black? Remember him?"

"Look, Nico, Sirius Black was tried and found guilty. There's nothing to talk about."  
"Sirius Black was framed."

"As much as I'd like to believe that… How do you even know Sirius?"  
"Once again, I do not see the importance in these questions."

"I'm sorry, Nico. There's no way he was framed. He was my friend, and I wish I could help him, but… The evidence…"

"Don't pretend you didn't hear me early. Peter Pettigrew is alive."

"Peter was a great man, and he died trying to stop Sirius. I don't know what connection you have to these men, but you're in denial, Nico."

"Denial is a river in Egypt. I'm telling the truth and you're just too damn ignorant to recognize it."

"I think we both kn-"

"I can prove it." Silence filled the room as Nico let the professor think about it. There was a loose, cocky grin placed on his lips, because, for the second time that day, everything seemed to be going alright.

"How?" The professor finally asked. He hadn't wanted to lead Nico on and fuel this insanity, but if it was true…

"All in good time," Nico smiled, almost wishing the timing was right. But no, convincing Lupin would come much, much later. There were several precautions Nico had to take, and tons of little details that would have to be fixed.

"Look, Professor," Nico held in his cocky grin this time. "I think I'll let you think about the possibilities. I am in your next class, and I'll see you then." And Nico walked out the door, not wanting to waste the shadow travelling energy he knew he didn't have.

Nico wandered the castle rather aimlessly for the next half hour. He wasn't sure where he could go on his shadow-traveling energy, and he didn't want to risk being stuck in some little English town. The castle was vast and expansive, with secrets and hidden rooms. It was worth a little exploring, and Nico liked having a safety net in case running away was left as his only option. He started pacing again, unsure of what else to do in the empty corridors. Around his third walk up and down the hall, he noticed a door that had most definitely not been there previously. He tugged the handle, and the door swung open to reveal a room filled to the brim with weapons and shields. Nico's eyes grew wide as he took in the large supply of ambrosia and nectar, paired with the subtle gleam of celestial bronze. He studied the stock, finding every weapon he could ever ask for. Suspicion filled his mind, but he wiped it away, choosing to instead focus on the fact that he had a backup. Nico decided that too much time had whisked by, and he glanced around for the door. He then noticed that two doors stood side by side in the front of the room. He pulled open one, and through it lay a snowy scene that he instantly recognized as America. The smell was different, as was the way the wind blew the snow in icy circles. Nico slammed the door shut, wondering if this was what magic was like all the time. He reached for the second door, giving a final glance back at the secrets the room held and feeling, for once, almost home.

Lupin wasn't in his classroom when Harry got to his Defense Against the Dark Arts class. The room filled with chatter as everyone took out their supplies and waited on the teacher. Harry glanced around, quickly spotting Nico among the students. Nico didn't have a quill, like everyone else, and he had also neglected to take out any supplies. Lupin arrived shortly after, and placed his briefcase on the desk. Harry caught the teacher throw a quick glance toward Nico, and Harry saw Nico's nonchalant shrug follow. Harry was instantly curious, but Lupin began his speech before he could think too much about it.

"Good afternoon" Lupin said. "Would you please put all your books back in your bags. Today's will be a practical lesson. You will need only your wands."

Nico wasn't all that happy about the turn of events. Pretending to study a book was a heck of a lot easier than pretending to do magic. Still, he couldn't blow his cover so early, and he pulled out the black stick that he had stuffed into his knife sheath. His fingers momentarily caught on the knife's hilt, and the image of the magical room flashed in his mind.

"Right then," The professor continued after everyone had finished packing their things. "If you'd follow me."

Harry was puzzled, but interested. The last time they had a 'Practical lesson', their professor had released a cageful of pixies to class and set them loose. However, Lupin did not seem like the type to do that, and the class followed him out of the room. He led them along the deserted corridor and around a corner, where they saw Peeves the Poltergeist floating upside down and stuffing the nearest keyhole with chewing gum. Peeves finally looked up and saw Lupin, and then broke into song.

"Loony, loopy Lupin," He warbled. "Loony, loopy Lupin."

It was odd, because Peeves usually showed a little respect to teachers, if no one else. Several heads turned to see how Lupin would take it.

"I'd take that gum out of the keyhole if I were you," Lupin said pleasantly, a smile spreading across his face.

Nico rolled his eyes. Poltergeists were his least favorite of any type of spirit, because, although they were easiest to track, they never seemed to understand who exactly Nico was. There had been ghosts all over the castle- he could sense them, but he hadn't seen a single lost soul. They had all avoided him like the plague, because, to them, he was a plague coming to rid them of their time on earth. It was wrong, them being here, and it played on every sense Nico had. But he let it go. He watched the encounter between the professor and the poltergeist, a headache growing in his mind as he sensed the lost, angry, and confused soul trapped inside the mischievous poltergeist.

"_Waddiwasi!"_ Lupin yelled, and Nico's headache changed into a sharp, sudden pain. The poltergeist flew off, and the pain subsided. Nico was shocked, but it wasn't the first time he had been painfully connected to a ghost. Shaking off the uncomfortable feelings inside, Nico aimlessly followed the shabby professor to the staff room.

"Inside, please," said Professor Lupin, and the class filed in. The room was empty, except one teacher. Professor Snape was seated in a low armchair. When Lupin followed after the class, Snape's nasty sneer grew.

"Leave it open," He drawled. "I'd rather not witness this."

He rose out of the chair and strode past the class, black robes swishing behind him. "Possibly no one's warned you, Lupin, but this class contains Neville Longbottom. I would advise you not to entrust him with anything particularly difficult. Not unless Miss Granger is hissing instructions in his ear. And, you also have the misfortune of teaching Mr. di Angelo. I would give him detention now, before he has the idea to rudely interject useless Italian at his superiors."

"And I thought we were past that," Nico muttered, and Snape's eyes met his.

"As I was saying, a very rude child. Perhaps he needs to be taught some manners. My classroom, di Angelo, tomorrow, to discuss your future in my class. 5 AM, if you don't mind."

"Yes, sir, not at all, sir." Nico made a mocking salute, chuckling a little. Snape slammed the door.

"Well, I was hoping Neville would assist me with the first stage of the operation," Lupin informed the class, ignore the incident with Nico. "and I am sure he will perform admirably."

Neville's face went a deathly scarlet as Lupin beckoned the class toward the end of the room, where there was nothing but an empty wardrobe. The wardrobe gave a slight wobble, banging off the wall.

"And, Mr. di Angelo, I was not aware you spoke Italian."

"Does that spark your curiosity, Professor?" Nico responded casually, eyebrows raised in perfect arches.

"There seems to be a little too much curiosity headed your way, Mr. di Angelo. Perhaps it would be best for you to refrain from such cocky attitude, and, as you might say, _lay low."_ Nico shrugged. Thousands of cocky, rebellious remarks filled his mind, but the professor was right. The wardrobe shook again, and everyone forgot about Nico for a second.

"Nothing to worry about," said Professor Lupin calmly. "There's a boggart in there."

Most people seemed to think this was something to worry about. Several gave Lupin looks of terror, and others seemed to eye the doorknob as if some dangerous enemy.

"Boggarts like dark, enclosed spaces. Wardrobes, the gap between beds, the cupboards under sinks- I've even met one that had lodged itself in a grandfather clock. This one moved in yesterday afternoon, and I asked the headmaster if the staff would leave it to give my third years some practice.

"So, the first question we must ask ourselves is, what is a boggart?" Nico felt himself slipping into the darkness of sleep, but he held on. The only thing he actually wanted to know in this lesson was what exactly a boggart was, and if he had to stand in this musty, dark room much longer, he was afraid he might fall asleep standing up. The question of what exactly a boggart is was answered in less than a heartbeat.

"It's a shapeshifter," Hermione replied. "It can take the shape of whatever it thinks will frighten us most."

"Couldn't have put it better myself," Lupin said, and Nico's eyes glazed over. It was going to be interesting, he thought, if they ever let the boggart out. All this chatter was sickening, mostly because Nico wanted to know the fears of those around him. His supposed his curiosity came from his father, because this was part of what the underworld was. The Fields of Punishment teamed with things like boggarts- shapeshifters that exploited fears and caused pain.

"_Riddikulus!" _The class chanted together, snapping Nico out of his thoughts. He assumed this was the spell they would be using; it seemed like the kind of thing a wizard would say. Lupin had pulled Neville to the front, and Neville was describing his grandmother's clothing.

"When the boggart comes out of the wardrobe, Neville, and sees you, it will assume the form of Professor Snape," said Lupin. "And you will raise your wand-thus- and cry '_Riddikulus'_- and concentrate hard on your grandmother's clothes. If all goes well, Professor Boggart Snape will be forced into that vulture-topped hat, and that green dress, with that big red handbag."

A peal of laughter echoed throughout the room, and the wardrobe wobbled harshly.

"If Neville is successful, it will turn to each of us in turn. I would like all of you to take a moment now to think of the thing that scares you most, and think of how you might force it to look comical…"

The room went quiet, and Nico thought. He had no idea what scared him most, nor did he know how to make it comical. Hades in pink underwear? The class did not need that image. Nico had faced thousands of monsters in his lifetime. Which one scared him most? Luke?

Yes, the thought of Kronos coming back terrified him, but that was too sad a memory to walk down. And he could never bring himself to dishonor the memory of such a great warrior by letting a boggart assume his shape. There were other options- Chimeras, Cyclops, Drakons, Empousa, the Minotaur, and, his personal least favorite, the Manticore. Each one was terrifying in their own right, Nico would never deny it, but none of them seemed like the scariest thing…

"Everyone ready?" said Professor Lupin, and Nico began to hope that the boggart never made it to him.

Neville's performance was amusing, and Nico found the boggart's form hilarious enough that he yanked out his Ipod and snapped a quick picture. He would find a use for it later, but for now he just stuffed the electronic device into his pocket. The rest of the class's turns with the boggart were slightly less funny, but Nico took note of every creature the boggart transformed into. There was a mummy, which Nico found rather lacking in terror, followed by a slightly more disgusting banshee, then a rat (talk about irrational fears, living in a world with magical creatures), then a rattlesnake, a bloody eyeball, a severed hand, and a giant spider. Just as the spider rolled in front of Harry Potter, Lupin jumped in front of Harry. Nico felt the excitement drain out of his body. He would love to know Harry's worst fears. Instead, the boggart had turned into a silvery-white orb. Lupin's greatest fear was the moon, well that seemed pretty obvious. Werewolves in denial typically feared the moon.

Lupin lazily cast the spell, and the boggart fell at Nico's feet. Terror rose in his chest as he was not prepared to see his worst fear. The boggart remained silvery-white, but it rose into the shape of human, growing until it filled the graceful poise of a huntress of Artemis. Several people jumped back in shock at the beautiful, lithe figure, and Nico's eyes went wide. It was her, but she wasn't there, not completely. Her hair was braided the way it always had been when they were kids, and her eyes had the same darkness as his own. She stood there for a second, and the classroom was silent. Then her eyes reached his, and every feeling he had drained from his body. Her eyes held confusion and no recollection of him. Three simple words formed on her lips, and it took all of Nico's honor and dignity to keep from crying.

_Who are you?_ Bianca screamed in his head.

Only two seconds must have passed, as Professor Lupin called across the room.

"Forward, Neville, and finish him off!" Lupin yelled, and Neville charged forward. The boggart was exploded into tiny wisps of smoke, and Nico watched as they fluttered back into the underworld, where the belonged. He was shaken, that much was obvious, but no one seemed to have paid that much attention to boggart Bianca. He didn't listen to the words coming out of Lupin's mouth, and the cheering that it brought made him want to scream. These people surrounding him were so unbelievably ignorant to the world.

"Did you see me take on the Banshee?" shouted Seamus Finnegan.

"And the hand!" Dean Thomas replied.

"And Snape in the hat!" This brought laughter to the exiting crowd.

"And my mummy!"

"Hey, what was up with that ghost lady?" A voice broke into Nico's brooding solitude.

"A little bit of the past," Nico replied with a dry chuckle. "I wish I could've cast the spell-would've been nice to give her a little humor."

Harry was having his own thoughts and issues, pondering why exactly Lupin hadn't let him face the boggart. Did Lupin think he would be too weak because he had fainted on the train?

"He seems like a nice teacher," Hermione commented. "But I wish I could have had a turn with the boggart-"

"What would it have been for you?" Ron sniggered. "A piece of homework that only got a nine out of ten?"

Defense Against the Dark Arts continued in the pattern it had started. Most people thought it to be their favorite class, but Nico (and Malfoy's gang) disagreed. Malfoy mostly complained about the professor himself, while Nico's dislike was centered around the creatures they studied. They did Red Caps after boggarts, and Nico had a profound hatred for Red Caps. They were everywhere in New York, even though most didn't realize, as they lurked where there had been bloodshed. They were a reminder of dark times of spilled blood and war, and they commonly bludgeoned surviving warriors who had returned to pay tribute to the fallen. They moved on to kappas after that, and kappas hated Nico. With passion. They were creatures created by Neptune, not Poseidon, and a kappa's life goal was to strangle and drown as many innocent wanderers who accidently strayed into their ponds. The best thing a kappa could ever do was drown a child of Hades or Zeus, and the examples brought into class made this goal quite clear to Nico. He was especially bothered because Lupin had claimed to know a lot about demigods, but he seemed intent on picking creatures who hated Nico most. Maybe Lupin wanted Nico to die, because he certainly was setting it up to happen. Mostly, however, it kept Nico from returning to the classroom during his free hours. This confirmed his fears- Lupin was avoiding him.

Potions had only gotten worse for Nico. He had gone to Snape's stupid little meeting, where he was given a long lecture about how things were going to operate in Snape's classroom. It had ended with the distribution of a calendar, stating at least five days where Nico would be serving detention. He fully intended to go, and that seemed to only create more hatred from the professor, who seemed to want a reason to expel Nico. To add to that, rumors had spread about the Snape boggart, and Nico saw no reason to keep the image hidden from the world. He had asked around, and he had got the picture printed a few hundred times and distributed throughout the school. Snape was bullying Neville even more, and he seemed to hate everyone.

Nico was actually starting to enjoy Divination, because it provided a fine atmosphere for a nice nap. Professor Trelawney, even with her inner eye, either did not notice or did not care that Nico was using her chintz armchairs as beds. He found himself dozing off constantly, and he stopped even trying to stay awake. Care of Magical Creatures was similar, as the creatures were becoming much duller. Flobberworms filled the hour of lessons, and they had to be the most boring things in existence. By the beginning of October, Nico was done playing 'Wizard' and was ready to be done with the school. The room he had found weighed on his mind, but he was focusing more on the pressing concern of Sirius Black. Every day, Harry was gaining more and more hatred for the supposed criminal, and that would make Nico's job much, much harder.

The Quidditch season was approaching quickly, and Harry was bursting with excitement. Oliver Wood had called a meeting one Thursday night to talk tactics, and it had been a pretty interesting, inspirational meeting, and Harry was beyond ready to win the Quidditch Cup. The team started training quickly, despite rain, wind, and mud. One night, Harry returned from practice to find the common room quite excited.

"What's happened?" he asked Ron and Hermione.

"First Hogsmeade weekend," said Ron, pointing out the notice on the bulletin. "End of October. Halloween."

Harry's spirits faded as he took a long look at the bulletin.

"Not going?" Nico was suddenly beside Harry studying the notice with interest.

"Can't," Harry responded, throwing himself into a chair beside Ron and Hermione.

"Me neither," Nico perched on the edge of one of the chairs. "I wanted to talk to you. I'm afraid we got off on the wrong foot, and there's a lot of stuff that… Well, there's a lot of things I think you should know." Nico's words produced stares from the trio of friends.

"Um, okay," Harry said uneasily.

"Cool, I'll see you then." And Nico was gone, like dust in the wind.

"What was that about?" Ron asked, turning to Harry.

"I dunno," Harry responded, staring at the place where Nico had just been.

"I think you should talk to him. Maybe he's just getting lonely." Hermione chipped in.

"Yeah, and he seems to know a lot about Sirius Black," Harry thought out loud.

"I think he's mad, but I guess he might know something." Ron replied, glancing around the common room to see if Nico was still lurking there.

He wasn't. Curfew was one of the many rules that Nico decided didn't apply to him, so he found no need to stay in the Gryffindor Tower. He was tired, because he was always tired, so he wasn't surprised that he hadn't shadow travelled far. He hardly recognized the empty corridor in the dark, but the room had been on his mind for the past couple weeks. He felt along the wall, looking for the door, but found nothing. He thought back to the first time he had found it. He had been pacing… Was that important? Nico tried walking back and forth several times, and there it was. His room. It was exactly how it had been previously, except now a bed sat in the corner. Nico looked at the bed, wondering for a minute. He'd wanted a bed, mostly because he hadn't wanted to sleep in Gryffindor Tower again. He thought for a minute, suddenly picturing a large pine tree growing out of the floor. He watched the floor closely, then felt foolish when nothing happened. Sighing, he turned to check the door to America, when he almost ran into the huge pine that had just appeared behind him. He blinked several times, and suddenly the room smelled like camp and grass coated the floor. Nico looked around, amazed. But then the room was changing, crashing in around him. The walls were jagged and black and he didn't understand until the smell of death filled the room. The underworld filled the room, and he realized why it had absorbed the mirage of camp.

He had wished for home.

He had slept fitfully that night, and had woken up remembering that he had a detention with Snape that day. His classes were unbelievably dull, and he somehow managed to get through the day without anyone asking him to perform magic. When his last class finally let out, he found himself headed to the dungeons for his date with the potions master. Around the last flight of stairs, he found Snape headed up the opposite direction.

"You can stop here, Mr. di Angelo. We're headed up." Snape drawled, looking up the flights of stairs that Nico had just come down. It was an inconvenience to Nico, obviously, and was undoubtedly meant to mess with his head. But Nico didn't care, after all the fighting he had been through, a few flights of stairs meant no difference. The only thing he regretted was that we would have to climb them alongside the professor. Deciding it was worth it, Nico slipped ahead a few steps until Snape couldn't see him anymore, and shadow travelled directly to the top.

It took Snape at least 10 minutes to make it to the top, and Nico did his best to look out of breath. After receiving a sneer from the professor, Nico let him lead towards the hospital wing.

"You'll be cleaning out the bed pans, no magic," Snape informed Nico in a nasally voice.

"Bed pans?" Nico said incredulously. "Are you kidding me?"

"If you would prefer to scrub the dungeon floors for the next twelve hours, I think that would be a fair trade off."

"I think I'll stick to the bed pans," Nico sighed.

"Your wand, Mr. di Angelo. I wouldn't want to catch you cheating," Snape glared, and Nico shrugged and pulled out the dark stick. A glint of celestial bronze met the surface as the wand slid out of the sheath, and Nico was quick to cover it. However the professor had noticed the flashy metal.

"Mr. di Angelo," He sneered, yanking the knife from its sheath. Relief flooded Nico's mind as he recognized it as one that would return to him. "Carrying weapons at school, are we?"

"Dangerous world," Nico responded, shrugging. "Am I not supposed to?" He could feel every weapon he carried pressing into his skin. There were about fifteen total- it was a lighter load than normal. One was in the heel of his left combat boot, another in the tucked gently into the boot tied around his right foot, and at least ten lay in various sheaths wrapped around his legs or in the hidden pockets of his pants. They were mostly knives and daggers, but there were also various other Greek weapons. His personal favorite was wrapped around his finger, the black skull ring that turned into his Stygian Iron sword. It was the best weapon he had, and he knew it could send any monster to Tartarus with ease.

"I will be speaking directly to the Headmaster about this. And ten points from Gryffindor for your careless habits," Snape sneered at Nico again. "I expect the bed pans to be clean when I return." Deciding he had nothing to lose, Nico let himself ask the quick question.

"Can I have it back someday?" He gestured to the knife, asking more to judge the response than to actually learn the answer.

"Only," Snape drawled. "If you are expelled." As he swished away in his long black robes, Nico let out a quick laugh before swinging open the doors to the hospital wing. His nose took notice of the all-too-familiar hospital smell, and he went to let the nurse know he was there to clean the bedpans.

The days before the Hogsmeade visit passed unceremoniously. Harry was miserable as the world buzzed about everything he would be missing, but he also carried a little bit of excitement as he thought more and more on what Nico might have to say. After saying goodbye to Ron and Hermione, he made his way to Gryffindor Tower.

"Password?" The Fat Lady asked, jerking awake.

"Fortuna Major," Harry replied sullenly. The door swung open, and Harry stepped inside. The room was filled with chattering first and second years, and a few older students who had obviously visited Hogsmeade before.

"Harry! Harry! Hi, Harry!" Collin Creevey, a second year who had a slight obsession with Harry, was shouting through the crowd. "Aren't you going to Hogsmeade, Harry? Why not? Hey, you can come sit by us, if you like!"

"Er- No thanks," Harry wasn't in the mood. "I'm supposed to be meeting someone." He took a quick glance around the room, but Nico was nowhere to be found. So, instead, Harry dashed outside the common room. He started wandering the castle, looking for the strange exchange student. After an encounter with Filch, he found himself drifting towards the owlery when a voice from inside one of the rooms said, "Harry?"

Harry spun to see who had spoken, and saw Professor Lupin standing in front of his office door.

"What are you doing? Where are Ron and Hermione?"

"Hogsmeade," Harry replied in a very casual voice.

"Ah… Why don't you join us? I've just taken delivery of a grindylow for our next lesson," Lupin beckoned inside.

"A what?" Harry asked, following the professor inside. In the corner, a sickly green creature with sharp little horns had its face pressed up against the glass of its water tank.

"Grindylow," The light in the room seemed to dim as Nico spoke. "Disgusting little creatures. I swear, all we're studying is water demons."

"Are you scared of them?" Harry asked, taking in the distance Nico left between himself and the creature.

"I don't know if I would say I'm scared," Nico responded. "It's just these things have an undying hatred for me." He took a few steps toward the tank, and the grindylow went insane. It clawed at the edges of the tank with its long, brittle fingers and it snarled at Nico.

"Why does it do that?"

"I told you, it hates me. Anyway, I'm somewhat glad you showed up. I was about to pop up to Gryffindor Tower, but I don't like it up there," Nico sighed, then leaned in and whispered into Harry's ear. "But I have the strangest feeling Lupin invited you in to avoid conversation between him and I."

"Cup of tea?" Lupin asked, oblivious to their conversation.

"Er, all right," Harry muttered awkwardly. Lupin found his kettle and tapped it with his wand. Steam started pouring out the spout, and he started pouring three mugs.

"None for me," Nico inserted. "I hate tea." His comments raised four eyebrows, but he didn't care. He played with a pure black ring on his right hand, eying the grindylow. Lupin whisked away one of the mugs with magic, and then passed Harry one.

"I've only got teabags, I'm afraid. But I daresay you've had enough of tea leaves?" A smile rose on Lupin's hollow face.

"How did you know about that?" Harry asked.

"Professor McGonagall told me. You're not worried, are you?"

"I would certainly hope not," Nico chipped in. "What a load of crap."

"No," Harry responded, thinking about the dog he had seen in Magnolia Cresent.

"You know what's kind of funny? Didn't Sirius Black turn into a big black dog?" Nico asked cheerfully.

"How on earth would you know that?" Lupin snapped, losing his own cheer. Nico just shrugged, and Harry had a look of pure terror etched on his face.

"Does he really?" Harry asked, looking straight at Lupin.

"There was a time when I knew Sirius very well, and he was trying to become an Animagi, but I have no idea if it worked." Nico rolled his eyes, but Harry seemed bewitched.

"I saw a big black dog on Magnolia Cresent… The night I ran from home…" Harry muttered.

"Hey, man, don't sweat it. I told you, Sirius isn't trying to hurt you," Nico assured him, but Harry still seemed spooked.

"That day," He said finally, getting over his sudden panic attack. "That day in class, when we were fighting the boggart, why didn't you let me face it?"

"I thought that would be obvious," Lupin sighed.

"Why?" Harry asked, taken aback.

"I assumed that if the boggart faced you, it would turn into Lord Voldemort." Harry stared, while Nico had what appeared to be a coughing fit.

"Voldemort?" He asked, the coughs sounding more and more like laughs. "That's what he's calling himself these days?" Harry and Lupin stared at him openmouthed.

"He is not someone to be taken lightly," Lupin reminded the demigod gently.

"Oh, sorry, um, Voldemort, that's terrible," Nico sniggered.

"I didn't think of Voldemort," Harry said honestly, ignoring Nico. "I just thought of those dementors." Nico held back his laughter, recognizing the serious tone in the moment.

"I see," Lupin said thoughtfully. "I'm impressed. That suggests that what you fear most is… Fear. Very wise, Harry."

"Look, Harry," Nico said, completely serious. "Dementors aren't worth your fear. They live to scare you, but they do it with memories. Bad memories. I say, you've lived it once, you can make it through again."

"Is that why they didn't bother you? Way back on the train?" Harry asked, and Nico shrugged.

"One of the many reasons," He responded. "But they don't scare me, not anymore."

"What exactly was that, the thing the boggart turned into for you?" Lupin turned to Nico, recalling the graceful girl. Nico's jaw went stiff, and he looked away.

"No one," He replied. "None of your concern." Just then, there was a knock on the door. Snape entered, glaring at both students. He had a goblet in his hand that smoked faintly and sloshed with a disgusting liquid.

"Thank you Severus," Lupin gestured to the desk, and Snape set the goblet down. "I was just showing Nico and Harry my grindylow."

"Fascinating," Snape said, without looking at it. "You should drink that directly, Lupin."

"I will," Lupin said, and Nico took a long look at the goblet. He ignored the rest of the teacher's conversation as he inhaled the strong smell of hell. Interesting, he thought, Wolfsbane must include some sort of nasty Underworld root. When Snape finally left, Nico turned to Lupin.

"Drink up, and then we talk," He said, all business.

"Pity sugar makes it useless," Lupin sighed, ignoring Nico. He took a small sip, wincing. "Professor Snape has been kind enough to concoct this potion to get me feeling better," Lupin continued, and Nico snorted.

"Off-color?" He questioned. "That's a good pun, actually."  
"Do they not use that phrase in America?" Harry asked, eyebrows raised. Nico gave him a funny look.

"Oh," Nico finally said, after a very long moment of silence. "No, they do, but not often." Professor Lupin seemed to not pay attention to their conversation as he drank from the goblet. Harry cringed a little.

"Professor Snape's very interested in Dark Arts," Harry blurted out.

"I've noticed," Nico cut in. "Especially the dark art of cleaning bedpans."

"Really?" Lupin replied, looking only mildly interested as he continued to drink the potion. He still ignored Nico's words, and Nico seemed to have given up on whatever talk he had wanted to conduct.

"Some people reckon-" Harry hesitated, giving Nico to cut in again.

"That celestial bronze is better than Stygian iron?" He snorted. "Some people are wrong." Harry gave Nico a long stare, and Nico just shrugged.

"I was going to say that some people reckon he'd do anything to get the Defense Against the Dark Arts job."

"Really?" Nico asked. "Maybe he'd let us study something other than water demons." Lupin drained the rest of the goblet, absentmindedly nodding.

"Well, I better get back to work," He said, pulling a face at the potion. "I'll see you at the feast."

"We will have words,' Nico warned, before breezing out the door. Harry gave a rushed goodbye, hurrying to catch up with Nico before he could disappear.

"Hang on!" He yelled down the hall at the dark figure, and Nico spun around on his heel.

"Did you want to talk? I have quite the conversation to have with you," He responded softly, chuckling at the rushing figure.

"I want to hear what you have to say," Harry responded uncertainly.

"Well, this is not the place for that," Nico glanced around the dark, deserted hall. "Oh, this is going to feel really, really weird to you."

"What?" Harry asked, but Nico had already grasped onto his shirt and snapped his fingers. The world started spinning around them, and then everything was dark. Harry felt like he was flying at an incredible speed, and suddenly they were in an empty classroom.

"That was exhausting," Nico di Angelo was beside him, half-collapsed over a desk. "I've gotten pretty good with just myself, using as little energy as possible, but two people? That's a nightmare." Nico glanced over at his travelling companion, and almost face-palmed. Harry was a sickly shade of green, and looked about ready to puke.

"What the bloody hell was that?" Harry asked, trying to regain his composure.

"Apparently, not fun for you. Don't worry, I won't do it again. It's just, walking is so unbelievably slow."

"Well, you wanted to talk," Harry threw himself into a nearby chair, the world still spinning.

"And I thought Percy had it bad," Nico muttered, watching as Harry stumbled. "Well, yes, I do want to talk. I have quite a bit to tell you, starting with the fact that Sirius Black is innocent."

"Why are you so intent on telling me that?" Harry panted out, using the quick breaths to steady himself.

"You don't know?"

"I know Sirius is after me, if that's what you mean."

"It's not. So you haven't heard the whole story yet?" Nico's tone sounded stumped. "No one told you?"  
"Told me what?" Harry snapped.

"Maybe it's better that way," Nico mused under his breath.

"What's better?" Harry's dizzy feelings faded and he grabbed onto Nico's shirt. "Tell me." In an instant, Nico had Harry on his back and a shiny celestial bronze knife was pressing into Harry's neck. Nico seemed to realize what he was doing, and stood up instantly. He inspected the knife intently, remembering his encounter with Snape.

"I hadn't realized it was back," He muttered, mostly to himself.

"Hey!" Harry jumped up, his wand out. "You can't have that."

"Hmmm…" Nico continued to stare at the knife. He let out a laugh. "The fool was trying to test it! As if you can play those games with Celestial Bronze."

"I'm going to report you to Dumbledore," Harry warned, looking at the shiny bronze. "Expelliarmis!" Harry shouted, pointing his wand at the knife. The spell gently pulled the knife out of Nico's hand, landing only a foot away from its owner. Nico's eyebrows rose as he reached down to pick up his weapon.

"Don't move," Harry pointed his wand at the student. "I mean it." Nico smirked, and swept the knife off the ground with his graceful fingers.

"Stupefy!" Harry yelled, and a burst of red light flew from the tip of his wand. Nico was tempted to dodge it, or even shadow travel away, but he had been curious about the effects of magic on himself, and this seemed like the perfect opportunity. The red light met him at his chest, where it bounced off. A wave of pain rocked his body, but the curse did not seem to do its task, as Harry's eyes went wide. Nico recognized the spell as a stunning curse, and he wondered how blown his cover was. Harry's opinion was not overly important to him, so he figured it was okay for the boy to notice that Nico was not the average wizard. With a long sigh, Nico felt the world fade into darkness as he shadow travelled into the thestral stable, where he had decided to wait until the great Halloween feast.

**Sooo… That was kind of painful to write. I don't know, it's been hard to write anything Nico since I heard some rumors about House of Hades. I don't want to spoil anything about that book, and I don't even know if it's true, so I'm doing my best. Plus, I don't know about Nico's boggart, because he's got so much going on in his life that I don't know what would scare him most. The thought of Bianca not knowing him seems like the strongest fear he would have at this point in time. Unless I get inspired by something, expect the next chapter sometime after March. Thank you all for reading, and, once again, happy New Year. **

**Quick question for the readers- What were your thoughts on Nico's interactions with Lupin?**

**And Darth-In-Training, I tried to fix Snape a little. What did you think about that? And thanks for the cookies.**

**Review if that's your thing, feel free to PM me if you have any questions or suggestions.**

**-MayaLopezEcho**


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